Retirement Planning

A retirement savings plan has become essential in today’s life. Without such a plan, no one can guarantee what kind of pension you will be receiving once you approach your retirement age.

Today people live longer and need more money to maintain their lifestyle as they age… and yet save less. Think about this - would you be able to maintain the same standard of living that you have now when you come to retire?

Having a retirement savings plan may provide you with a lump sum or income at maturity that may guarantee a certain level of lifestyle for you and your family. It can, for instance, cushion the emotional and economic blow of divorce or accident, and give you the upper hand when faced with unexpected problems.

Every single person’s aim is different, but the flexibility of these products enables us to find a specific product that will satisfy all your requirements, whatever your personal circumstances may be. Retirement plans may start from as little as €40 per month and may be kept for a minimum period of ten years.

If you are feeling guilty or are panicking because you do not yet have a personal financial plan in place, rest assured that you are not alone.

Most people think that they are at a point in their life when it would make no sense to start saving; they believe it is too late for them. This is not the case - it is NEVER TOO LATE to start planning for your retirement. If this sounds like you, our advice would be not to invest in a 100 % equity based investment. Instead, we would look into a choice of investments with a lower risk level, such as bond funds, managed funds, with-profits funds or - even better - guaranteed products.

With a possible life expectancy of 80-85 years, the chances are that you still have a lot of life to look forward to, and hence to save for. So why wait another month or year? Start now, because the sooner you start saving, the more time your money has to grow.

There are different types of investment vehicles that one can use to set aside money for retirement. The simplest perhaps being that of a normal bank savings account, or investments in cash funds, to the new, more innovative and now widely available unit-linked savings plans.

Using a bank account or a similar cash fund to save your money has very low risk if any at all; the unit-linked saving schemes may be that little bit riskier. But it goes without saying that the possibility of return is much greater than that of a savings account, especially when taking into account factors such as inflation which will reduce your capital in real terms.

It is important to note that these types of savings plans are aimed for the long term (more than 15 years). The longer you maintain a savings plan the better, so it is also NEVER TOO EARLY to start.